


Maybe Not So Bad After All

by Lynn_Stewart



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien - Freeform, Alya - Freeform, DJWifi, F/M, LadyNoir - Freeform, Ladybug - Freeform, Marinette - Freeform, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Nino - Freeform, adrienette - Freeform, chatnoir - Freeform, miraculousladybug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:27:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28940724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lynn_Stewart/pseuds/Lynn_Stewart
Summary: Marinette is surprised by Alya when she adds an extra guest to their camping trip
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 5
Kudos: 117





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note: All Characters are of legal age (18 in Canada) but the characters in the show are originally 15-16

Marinette woke to the sound of her father’s deep voice calling her name from the bakery. “Marinette! Alya is waiting outside!” He boomed. Marinette checked the time on her phone, squinting at the bright screen in the dim room. The sun wasn’t up yet, but that didn’t stop Alya from driving to a cottage in the woods for a camping trip. They had all finished high school now and it was their last summer until they either started working for their parents or pursuing their own careers through college.

“Ok, i’m coming!” Marinette jumped from her loft bed, hanging on the wooden railing around the bed until her feet touched the cold ground. Fall was fast approaching, but Alya still wanted to get on their last trip together until school started. 

As she frantically stuffed things into her bag, she noticed her phone buzzing, Alya was calling. ‘Can she wait 4 minutes?’ She thought to herself. Any Akuma’s that were to arise weren’t a problem, since Alya had an app on her phone to alert her of the approaching Akuma’s. “Hello?” She held the phone to her ear. Giggling came from the other side, followed by Alya’s iconic sly voice. 

“By the way, I have a surprise for you when you get down here, just get in the front seat,” Alya snickered. Marinette could hear the sly smirk on her face already, one similar to Chat Noir’s. 

“Alya!” Marinette whined as she quickly put the phone on speaker while she began to get dressed. A black, halter top; light wash jean shorts and her ebony blue hair in a messy bun for convenience. “I don’t like surprises, they get me really stressed!”

“You’ll like this one,  _ believe _ me!” She assured her before hanging up. Marinette rolled her eyes before slipping on a pair of sandals and hurrying down the steps with her suitcase, thumping down each step and rattling back and forth. 

Marinette kissed her parents on the cheek, before rushing through the bakery door to see Alya’s shiny, red car sitting on the road. “We can put that in the trunk,” The red head looked at the pink suitcase as she got out of the driver’s side door. 

“Alya, what is the surprise?” Marinette huffed, slugged her shoulders as the heavy suitcase was placed into the trunk. 

“I’m not telling you,” She cooed in a sing-song voice. Marinette huffed, giving up her trying and just getting in the passenger seat. As she closed the door, she saw the look of blonde hair in the rear view mirror and her heart almost stopped for a moment. 

“Hey Mari,” Adrien smiled, peeking around the chair. 

“GAH!” Marinette flung herself against the window. Nino peeked over Adrien’s head, smiling at Marinette too. Of course Alya would do something like this. Great. She didn’t pack makeup which meant she would have to look her worst for a week in front of Adrien. 

“Yo, Mari!” Nino removed the headphones from his ears to rest them around his neck. 

“I’m so excited, I’ve never been camping with friends” Adrien smiled dumbly. Marinette resumed her normal sitting position as Adrien retracted back to the back seat. 

“Dude, you’re gonna have so much fun!” Nino smiled. Alya began the car again, watching out of the corner of her eye as Marinette’s face flushed red and she began to sweat. Marinette hadn’t realized at the time, but she had packed her newest bathing suit. It was a more mature version of her other ones, more revealing. The string in the back and around the neck, the small bottoms, and the added bonus of Adrien, shirtless, hadn’t yet hit Marinette. 

  
  
  


A few hours into driving, Alya played all of Marinette’s favorite songs. Without thinking twice, she began singing along, loudly. She was in her own little world and she completely forgot about the blonde that sat behind her. 

Meanwhile, Adrien watched in awe as she sang loudly, but beautifully. She rolled her hand in the wind, the fast paced air on the highway pulling her hand along. Adrien smiled, watching his friend enjoy herself, like she almost never seemed to do when he was around, well, not without a large group of people.

“Can I get a Hamburger, no cheese, and a coke?” Alya ordered into the drive through speaker, before looking back at everyone else. “Who else wants food?”

“Hi, can I get a Caesar salad and just water?” Marinette leaned over to say to the speaker. 

“And two number 4’s with both cokes,” Nino spoke loudly over the driver’s seat.

“Drive right up,” The employee said through the intercom. Alya followed the instructions, getting behind a small white car. 

“Wow, why are you eating healthy?” Alya smirked as she looked over at her best friend. 

“I just need to watch what I eat,” Marinette shrugged. Marinette didn’t  _ need  _ to watch what she ate, being Ladybug kept her in great shape but a salad would be easiest to eat in front of Adrien without being perceived as a complete slob. Though he wouldn’t see the front of her face, she still worried about him possibly seeing her through the rear view mirror. 

“Marinette, I think you have a great body figure,” Adrien said shyly. “What I mean i-is that you keep in great shape a-and your hips- I mean- your thighs- I mean- you stay in good shape!” Adrien seemed to act like Marinette all of a sudden, stuttering his words, saying the wrong things and complimenting them in a weird wording style. 

“Thanks Adrien,” Marinette sheepishly tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, feeling her pale skin heat up from not just the now late morning sun.

“Ok gang!” Alya exclaimed, stopping the car and startling awake the three sleeping beauties. “Time to unpack!” Alya opened the car door before stepping out and slamming it behind her. The wooden cottage stood proudly in the field, trees surrounding it while still letting the afternoon sun pour in. 

“Ugh, how long was I out?” Marinette moaned as she rubbed her eyes. 

“I don’t even know,” Adrien said, his tired voice still admitting from his mouth. The rasp and deepness of it was so soothing and only made Marinette more tired, yet nervous with butterflies in her stomach.

As Marinette followed Alya to her designated room, she noticed a second room, where probably the two boys would be staying, though it only had one bed. 

Well, both rooms only had one bed. That was fine. Marinette didn’t mind sharing a bed with Alya, they did it all the time at their sleepovers. 

“Marinette, is it ok if Nino and I share a room while you and Adrien share a room?” Alya begged her. 

“Alya, are you crazy?” Marinette said in a hushed voice, seeing the boys still grabbing their bags from the trunk. “I could barely handle a car ride with him, how will I share a room with him?” 

“Not to mention a bed,” Alya shrugged, sending Marinette into even more of a panic. “But you’ll be fine, if you want to switch at any point just tell me that and I’ll find you an excuse,” Alya left the room, letting Adrien enter too. 

“So, I guess you and I are sharing a bed Marinette,” Adrien smiled sheepishly. “Is that ok with you?” 

“Y-yeah it’s fine! I just need to unpack and then i’m gonna go get something to drink from the cooler,” She smiled, feeling her face flush a crimson colour again. Unpacking her phone, charger, shoes and towels for swimming helped to distract Marinette from Adrien, who was also unpacking. ‘I need a place to set up Tikki’s bed without Adrien noticing’ She thought to herself. 

Marinette spotted a tiny drawer at the bottom of one of the nightstands that sat at either side of the bed, next to the backboard. Marinette sneakily and cautiously slipped Tikki’s makeshift bed into the drawer before closing it, setting her side purse next to it as well. Tikki quickly slipped into Marinette’s messy bun, hiding in the long hair. 

She hadn’t noticed till now, but Adrien’s hair was also tied back into a man bun. She never noticed that Adrien had grown his hair out long, but it did look very attractive on him. The bun looked almost perfect. Small strands of hair falling down to make it look effortless, the way it sat in the air was amazing and before she knew it, she was staring. 

“Uh, Marinette?” Adrien asked, seeing her staring at his hair. “Is something wrong?”

“N-no, no, I just hadn’t noticed how long your hair got,” 

“Oh! This? Yeah I haven’t really gotten a chance to cut it but my father says it sells much better in magazines so it’s staying for a little longer,” He chuckled, knowing Marinette had probably seen every record of Gabriel Magazine cover photos that had been released since the last time they saw each other. 

“Oh, right I haven’t been keeping up on my magazine collecting,” She said to herself. “I’ve been so busy with helping my parents in the bakery that I haven’t done much sewing,” She giggled. Adrien chuckled along before turning towards the door and leaving, calling for Nino and Alya. 

“So, What’s on the schedule?” Adrien asked. 

“Nothing, not until after dark, which is when we have our fire and roast marshmallows,” Nino explained. In the distance a dirtbike roared, followed by said dirt bike speeding past with a trail of dust behind it. The dirt road was excellent for dirt bikes, though Marinette didn’t know how to ride one, she always found them fun to watch. 


	2. By the fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the four sit by the fire, Adrien offers Marinette his blanket when she gets cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: All characters in this story are 18 but the characters in the show are 15-16

While Marinette sat by the late night fire, she watched as her paper plate from supper burned to a crisp and left nothing but ash behind. The sound of the fire crackling and the crickets chirping put her to peace. “Here,” Alya held a metal stick with two pointed tips at the ends in Marinette’s face. Marinette looked up at Alya, who was wearing a big smile. 

“There’s only two sticks so you and Adrien will have to share,” She shrugged, sitting on the wooden log across from her, while Nino appeared from, what felt like, thin air and sat next to her. 

“Yeah dude, you’ve got this,” Nino placed a blanket over top of his and Alya’s lap as she snuggled closer to him. 

“Whatever you say Nino,” Marinette narrowed her eyes. 

“Here Mari,” Adrien said from behind her, startling her to a point of flinching at the sight of his hands, placing the blanket next to her. Adrien sat next to Marinette, though keeping a small gap between the two. 

“Thanks Adrien,” She quickly placed the blanket over his lap and her own. As the four talked about their summer vacations, Marinette noticed the lack of marshmallows over the fire. 

“I’m going to go get the marshmallows, ok?” Marinette stood up, pointing to the cabin. Alya nodded and continued to talk to Adrien and Nino. 

“What are you going to do about your room situation?” Tikki appeared once they were alone in the kitchen. 

“What do you mean?”

“You did the same thing on the plane to New York a couple years ago, you made an excuse and switched, but what now?” Tikki asked. 

“I’m just going to have to push through it, if i switch he’ll think I don’t like him and don’t want to share a room with him,” Marinette pulled the bag of marshmallows from the high cabinet and opened the front door again, Tikki disappearing into her hair again, though still talking. 

“I’m just saying, don’t come crying to me when you can’t handle it,” 

  
  


“Here Adrien,” Marinette held the stick out to Adrien, ready for him to put his marshmallow on the end. Adrien slid the marshmallow on, then looking at Marinette as if to say ‘ok, now what?’. “You have to hold it over the fire, then once the outer sides are a golden brown, you can eat it,” 

“Nah, you gotta have it nice and burnt!” Nino exclaimed, holding his marshmallow right in the flames without care. 

“No! I don’t want mine in flames!” Alya snatched the stick away from him and held it outside the fire pit, still close to the coals as she rotated it. 

“So Adrien, what have you been up to all summer?” Marinette struggled to make conversation without stuttering while Nino and Alya were off in their own little world of love. 

“Nothing particularly different, mostly modelling and fashion shows,” Adrien shrugged as he watched the small pieces of still burning ash fly above the fire then float onto the dirt ground. 

“Oh? What fashion shows?” Marinette roasted the marshmallows one last time before holding the stick between her thighs and smushing one marshmallow in between a gram cracker and chocolate and handing it to Adrien. 

“Mostly Audreys, she gets very busy during the summer since that’s when she gets the most inspiration,” Adrien mocked a fashionista personality as he grabbed the s'more. Marinette chuckled as she stuffed her s'more into her mouth. Marshmallow smeared over her mouth and gram cracker crumbs fell onto the ground. Both giggled at their messy faces before using a wet wipe, courtesy of Marinette, to wash off the sticky goodness. 

  
  


As the fire died down, Alya was asleep on Nino’s shoulder, while Nino insisted on waiting until the fire completely went out to go inside. “I’m cold,” Marinette muttered to herself as she pulled her legs in closer under the blanket. 

“Here,” Adrien placed his hand around Marinette’s shoulder, pulling her in closer and wrapping his side of the blanket around her. “Better?” He looked down at her with a genuine smile. 

“But Adrien, you’ll get cold,” Marinette didn’t want to cause her friend a cold.

“Nah, I’ll be fine, we’re probably going in soon anyway,” Adrien shrugged before scooting in closer to Marinette. She could feel his heavy breathing against her side, the smell of his cologne and the soft thumping of his heart. Marinette’s heart, on the other hand, was far from a soft thump. Her heart was racing, in match with her thoughts. She tried to stay calm, hoping Adrien couldn’t hear the loud pounding that she could. Watching the fire crackle, she too started to drift off. 

  
  


The next morning, at 8 am, Marinette felt something beating softly under her hand. She looked over to her hand dreamily, only to start panicking once she saw that not only was her hand over Adrien’s chest, her whole body was clung onto his side while he was forced to sleep on his back. She couldn’t wake him up by moving so she took advantage of the moment and rested her eyes, waiting until he woke up. 

A few minutes later, Adrien woke up, slowly trying to move out of bed without waking up Marinette. Marinette looked up at him dreamily before he could get out of bed, acting as if she just woke up. “Morning sleepyhead,” Adrien smiled, not caring that Marinette was practically wrapped around him. They both sat up, one in a hurry and the other in a calm manner. 

“Sorry I fell asleep last night,” She yawned, still trying to process how her body ended up in that position. 

“It’s ok, carrying you from the fireplace to the bed was simple, you’re actually really light,” He chuckled. Saving Paris put so much more weight onto his muscles, which meant carrying her was a piece of cake. 

“Get up you two, there’s pancakes out on the porch,” Nino leaned into the room, seeing both of them in their clothes from the night before. 

“Yeah, I’m just going to get dressed first,” Marinette didn’t want to be seen in her pajamas by Adrien any longer than she had to. Adrien walked outside with his flannel pants and loose t-shirt on to get his pancakes. 

As Marinette stood in her room, the door closed, in her shorts and bra, she debated which shirt to wear. The white off the shoulder loose shirt or the checkered tank top which could be easily tucked into the shorts. As she turned her back, she didn’t hear the bedroom door opening, Adrien standing there for a moment only to close the door again after realizing what he had walked in on. 

“Ok, where are my pancakes?” Marinette stepped out in a checkered tank top and shorts, hands on her hips in a good mood. Adrien’s face flushed as the image of Marinette in her bra flashed over his mind. He watched as Marinette happily took two pancakes off the paper plate and smeared butter and syrup over it. 

“Uh, Adrien?” Nino tapped him on the shoulder. 

“S-sorry, I was out of it, what were you saying?” Adrien quickly looked back to Nino, hoping he wouldn’t notice, but it was hard to miss. 

“Starting to think that Marinette is not just a friend anymore?” Nino nudged him in the arm, before gesturing at Marinette. 

“Shut up…” Adrien’s face flushed again. 

Thankfully, Adrien’s mind got off the topic quickly and he managed to easily talk to Marinette the rest of the day. As the sun continued to rise, increasing gradually with heat every hour, Marinette was asked of a favour from Alya. 

“Marinette, I left my bathing suit in the car, can you get it for me?” Alya said, poking her head out of the bathroom. 

“You can’t just go out and get it yourself?” Marinette cocked an eyebrow as she looked up from the latest Gabriel Magazine that Adrien had lent her. His father apparently wanted him to keep at least 2 magazine’s of Gabriel on him. 

“Because you’re fully clothed and you’re just such a good friend,” Alya smiled, knowing her methods of getting her way were apparent. 

“Ok, ok,” Marinette chuckled as she rolled her eyes and got up. Marinette walked out the screen door and out to the dirt road with her bikini on, not thinking anything of it. 

“Adrien, can you see if my swimming trunks are in the trunk of Alya’s car? I can’t seem to find them anywhere,” Nino scratched his head as he removed his cap. Adrien had watched Nino search the living room, 1st bedroom and 2nd bedroom for his swimming trunks. 

“Yeah, sure man,” Adrien smiled in agreement, no complaints. As Adrien pushed open the screen door, he saw the faint dust from the dirt bike that must’ve recently gone by, but as he got closer to Alya’s car, he saw the dirt bike stationed outside the tree’s, talking to a girl with blue hair. He could hear the faint voice of thin Marinette, hearing the concern and growing fear in her voice. 

“No, I’m not seeing anyone but I am interested in someone else,” Marinette politely declined. 

“C’mon babe, you’ve got to be interested,” One man said. Adrien cautiously crept forward, seeing two more men with the original biker. 

“No, I’m sorry but I’m really not,” She declined again, less polite and more demanding now. Before Adrien could step in, the man with shaggy hair from his helmet and dust around his face and tacky sunglasses, grabbed Marinette’s wrist, pulling her closer to him. 

“Just a peck on the cheek won’t hurt,” The man said. 

“Get off of me!” Marinette used her other hand to attempt an escape, only for another man to pin that wrist down against Alya’s car, then the other. 

“She said get off,” Adrien quickly stepped in, a firm statement in his voice. Marinette knew she could handle herself, she was Ladybug for gosh sake, but she didn’t want to use brute strength until she absolutely needed to. Adrien stepping in was a better option for Marinette. Adrien could help her, or even just scare them off. 

As much of a cinnamon roll as he is, Marinette knew how terrifying her crush could be. Seeing him passive aggressively talk to Lila or the hatred in his eyes when Chloe got the whole school blamed for something she did one year, was enough for her to know that she didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Adrien’s wrath.

“Hey, Agreste junior,” The man said. 

“Get off of her,” He seethed again. 

“Or what?” The man aggressively pulled Marinette closer to him by the wrist, placing his musty hand around her waist and feeling up her back, going under the string bikini. “You’ll throw your money at me? Go whine to daddy?” The man mocked, his friends laughing along.

“No, but i’ll make you regret grabbing Marinette,”

“Oh? It has a name! Marinette, I like it!” The man smirked at Marinette, Marinette feeling helpless for a second. 

“Marinette is not an ‘it’” Adrien walked closer and grabbed the opposite wrist from the one the man was holding. Adrien tugged firmly on Marinette’s wrist. Hopefully he didn’t hurt her too much, but it wouldn’t matter compared to what they would do to her. 

“No man, she’s mine!” The man practically threw Marinette into the arms of his friends behind him, his friends covering her mouth so she couldn’t scream. He pushed Adrien to the ground again and started his dirt bike again. Before Adrien could act, he heard the shriek of the men behind the raggedy man. 

They were holding their hands in pain, Marinette feeling too stunned to walk any further, leading her right back into the arms she was originally in. Marinette had bit the two man’s fingers so hard that Adrien could’ve sworn he saw blood trickle from the dirty fingers. 

“Now, I’m leaving so don’t follow me pretty boy,” The man said. Marinette, knowing that being released from the other two men would lead her here, kicked her foot back as hard as she could, hitting the man straight in the balls. 

“Shit!” The man climbed back on his bike and all three quickly drove away in a puff of smoke. 

“Marinette! Are you okay?” Adrien asked as Marinette helped him up from the ground. 

“Yeah, just a few scratches but otherwise I’m fine,” She smiled. 

“Where did you learn all that?” 

“Uhhh, self defense class!” Marinette, taken down from the previous adrenaline rush that gave her confidence, was now back to her flushed complexion. 

“Oh my god girl!” Alya ran out, wearing a long towel around her body. “I heard the dirt bikes and I suspected you were out here for too long!” Nino followed behind Alya, looking equally concerned for Marinette. 

“I’m fine, but Adrien did help to distract them a bit,” Marinette smiled at the blond, dusting a small bit of dirt off of her porcelain skin. Adrien felt his face warm slightly as he darted his gaze in a different direction as he stood up. 

After all four were ready, the small walk to the lake nearby was made with banter, and awkward conversation between Marinette and Adrien. Marinette’s soft skin occasionally brushed against Adrien’s hand, making him even more nervous. He had never felt so awkward around anyone. 


	3. Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien gets emotional while helping to clean the dishes with Marinette

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters in this story are 18 but the characters in the show are 15-16

"C’mon dudes!” Nino yelped as he ran from the cliff above and jumped off, landing in the water below with a splash.   
“Ugh! Nino!” Alya seethed, guarding herself from the splashed water. The water was cold, almost numbing them from the waist down, but only Nino was crazy enough to go head first into the chilly water, though it did feel nice compared to the hot weather.   
“Aha! Nice one Nino!” Marinette laughed, slapping her wet hand against Nino’s. It wasn’t entirely true that Nino was the only one crazy enough to jump in head first. Marinette’s hair slopped over her shoulders as the water trickled down her face.   
“Marinette! Don’t encourage him!” Alya scolded again.   
“What’s wrong Alya? Afraid to get a little wet?” Adrien called in a mocking way. Alya laughed as she splashed Adrien with water, ruining his dry hair. 

“Ohh! Chicken fight!” Nino yelled as he motioned for Marinette to get on his shoulders. Alya hopped on Adrien’s shoulders and the two girls began going face to face, trying their hardest to push the other into the water. Marinette laughed, not knowing that Adrien had his eyes locked on her smile, the way she laughed and the way her hair trickled with water. 

Marinette got distracted once she caught on to someone’s lingering eyes, leaving an opening chance for Alya to knock her into the water. The pair laughed in victory, Nino and Marinette emerging from the water with laughter. Nino wrapped his arms around Marinette in a hug, both laughing. 

As the four dried off and slipped into their clothes from the morning before, Adrien set the table for dinner, steaks on the barbecue that sat on the porch.   
“Excuse me Adrien,” Marinette said as she reached above him, grabbing the ketchup from a higher shelf. Adrien hoped that Marinette couldn’t hear his heart beating so quickly from their close proximity, but Marinette was hoping the same thing too. 

“Adrien, who knew you were so good at cooking!” Alya smiled, stuffing more of the meat into her mouth. Adrien had taken cooking classes from his mother when he was little, and making steaks was as simple as combining his already learnt skills.   
“My father used to make the best, but we don’t get them much anymore,” Adrien shrugged, setting down his own plate to eat beside them. He noticed that Marinette had finished her meal already, leaving no trace of that fact anywhere. No sauce on her hands or face and no fat meats left on the plate.   
“Who knew Mr. Agreste was quite the cook?” Alya cocked an eyebrow, swallowing her meat with a heavy gulp.  
“He didn’t cook much, it was always my mother that cooked,” Adrien smiled again, the weight of his words tugging at the corners of his mouth. Marinette could sense the sadness that he tried so hard to cover up. She couldn’t imagine going through what he went through. Losing a parent while the other becomes cold and distant?

“Adrien, I saw how you looked early, and I was wondering if you wanted to talk about it,” Marinette looked at Adrien with sorrowful eyes as she circled the cloth on the wet plate, cleaning away the mess Nino had made on his plate.   
“Marinette, I’m fine, really,” He smiled half-heartedly.  
“Being ‘fine’ and being ‘okay’ are too different things, ‘fine’ is never good, you only use it when you don’t want to -- or can’t -- explain your emotions,” Marinette rambled without her knowledge. Marinette had used ‘fine’ so many times in her life when she couldn’t explain the weight of carrying Paris’s safety on her back, or the struggle of always being the ‘go-to friend’, the one who always had a plan but when she didn’t have a plan, she felt everyone’s disappointment on her, whether it was real or just in her head.

“Marinette I-” Adrien started, not knowing where to start. “My mother was the glue who kept my family together, and I only really noticed that once she was gone. She always lit up a room with her smile, and she could make me laugh, no matter what mood i was in,” He chuckled, remembering his mother’s ways of getting him to cheer up. “And sometimes, I just want to see her, like after a hard day or when i just want to see her,”   
“Adrien, I can’t imagine what that’s like,” Marinette set the plate next to her on the counter. Adrien felt his eyes well up, knowing that bringing back such memories would make him tear up a small bit, but the fact that talking to Marinette about it, made him cry more.   
“Marinette, sometimes you remind me of her, the way you always see the silver lining, you stand up for what’s right, and sometimes just the way you look at me, I-” Adrien paused, chuckling as he wiped his eyes. Marinette felt her heart drop at his words. “S-sorry, I guess I can’t control my emotions very much,” He turned to see Marinette with her lips quivering, her eyes like a child's when they wanted something. 

Marinette didn’t hesitate to throw herself onto Adrien, pulling him in for a hug. “Adrien, I’m so sorry about your mom, but if you need someone to talk to, I'm always here,” Marinette put her feelings for him aside and talked from the heart, burying herself deeper into his soft pajama shirt. Adrien still had his hands up from the surprise of the hug, but gently placed his arms around her.   
“Thank you Mari, really….” 

Marinette pulled away, knowing that hugging for longer would lead to her emotions catching back up to her. “Um, Adrien, I want to tell you something….”  
“What is it?”  
“I’m-” Before Marinette could finish her sentence, Nino exclaimed from outside that the fire was ready to be sat around. Nino’s interruption was a lifesaver. Marinette didn’t know where her mind was going at that point, was it going to confess her love or reveal her identity as Paris’ heroine.   
“Y-yeah, yeah! Coming!” Adrien looked out the window then back to Marinette. “What were you going to tell me?”  
“O-oh, nothing, it’s not important,” She smiled. Marinette’s brain had almost gone on auto-pilot. Did this mean that Marinette had actually worked up the confidence to tell him how she felt? Or was this a way of her subconsciousness telling her to take some of the weight off of her mind by telling him that she was Ladybug? 

No.  
No, telling him that she was Ladybug would only put Adrien in more danger, and she couldn’t risk his life just for her own comfort. If she had a hard time keeping the weight of Paris on her shoulders, she didn’t want to imagine the kind of stress Adrien would go through.   
“Mari, you coming?” Adrien turned back, seeing Marinette staring at the ground as she fiddled with her hands.   
“Wha- oh! Yeah , just a second,” Marinette smiled before turning to go back to her room. 

“Marinette! What were you thinking!” Tikki flew around her at a frenzied speed. Of course, even Tikki could tell she was going to let her identity slip.  
“I don’t know, my brain just went onto autopilot for a second,” Marinette looked down at her hands again, examining the creases in skin and the smoothness of her hands.   
“Well, don’t let it ever happen again, you would be putting Adrien in great danger if you told him!” Tikki felt like she had repeated that statement a million times before, which she had.  
“Yeah, I know…..” Marinette rolled her eyes, walking past the kwami to grab the soft blanket that laid sprawled out on the large bed. “But he trusted me enough to tell me about his mother, so why shouldn’t I trust him?”   
“This isn’t about trust! It’s about your own safety and others,” Tikki scolded again, flopping down to the bed.  
“This doesn’t feel fair….” Marinette said, leaving the room before Tikki could scold anymore. 

Marinette felt the cool breeze in the air as she walked to the fire pit, seeing Adrien patting a space beside him for her to sit down. Nino had already pulled out his flashlight, holding it under his chin so the light shined up his face, creating dark shadows in different regions. The fake ghost story earned a chuckle out of Alya, who called his bluff from start to finish.   
“Adrien, do you have any ghost stories?” Marinette looked over at Adrien, seeing him wrapped tightly in the blanket. “Adrien?”   
“S-sorry, My mother had this one she would tell every time we went camping and I just remembered it scared the crap out of me,” He chuckled, laughing at his childish days.   
“Oooooh! Let's hear it!” Alya wiggled with excitement in her cushions love seat with Nino. Adrien thought for a moment, recalling how it started. Though he remembered it fairly well, he still had to fill in some gaps. 

“My god, your mom used to tell you that?” Nino asked, hearing the last sentence of the man in the story brutally dying. Though it was a ghost story, the ghost was the one who had been tortured, not the victims of a haunted house.   
“Yeah, looking back on it, I can see why my aunt would always complain about my mother telling me and my cousin that story. Felix had nightmares for weeks after that trip, though I turned out perfectly fine,” Adrien laughed nervously.   
“Felix was the scaredy cat type? I would’ve seen him as more of the pessimistic type,” Marinette shrugged, adjusting her seating position.   
“Yeah, he wasn’t always like the guy he is now, he never tried to steal my identity,” He laughed again, his words tugging at his heart. The Felix incident would forever be his least favorite Akuma battle. Facing someone who wasn’t even Akumatized, but still a horrible person was terrible. 

Shortly after, the four returned to the dirt road, laying down to look up at the stars. Adrien pointed out the big dipper, and Alya managed to wish on shooting stars, hoping for an interview with Ladybug every time. Marinette could easily make that dream come true, but that time was too come. Marinette darted her eyes back and forth, hoping to catch a glance of a shooting star. Before she was about to stand up and head to bed, she saw one last star fly shortly by before disappearing completely. 

Without thinking, her mind hoped for the courage to confess to Adrien.

Marinette finally stood up, wiping the dirt off of her legs and arms, and headed back to the dimly lit fire which was burning out quickly. Marinette entered the cabin, feeling a sense of warmth again, before she hurried to put Tikki to bed, before the rest followed behind her. As she was about to slip into bed, she noticed that she still had the clothes from before on. Hesitantly, she got onto her feet and unzipped her suitcase, seeing the silk pajama set of a tank top and shorts folded nicely with her other clothes. Her face turned beet red as she realized she would have to wear this in front of Adrien, and she still needed to get her glass of water for bed. 

“Well, it’s either this or a pair of jeans so…” Marinette quickly stepped into the pajama set and opened the whiney door to the living room, only to see Adrien, alone, walking in the screen door across the room, his face matching the light pink colour of her pajamas. The tank top and shorts were lined with black lace which stretched over her body and the accordion style of the waist band shaped Marinette’s waist amazingly. 

“A-a-are you bed heading- I mean- heading to bed?” Adrien stammered, much like Marinette did almost everyday.   
“Yeah…. But I’m getting a glass of water first,” Marinette tugged down on her shorts, hoping her butt wouldn’t become carved in the silk, though the tugging failed to do so. She tugged up on her tank top to hide her cleavage. Adrien cleared his throat and slipped into the room, not saying a word when she joined him in the bed again.


	4. Finding Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While coming back, Ladybug is met by a surprising guest.

Ladybug stood alone, staring at the rest of Paris who were celebrating in glee as Hawk Moth was defeated but she could sense the tension, not constantly but every so often she felt it punch her in the gut, winding her from breath. Soon the feeling became reality, when Parisian’s disappeared, being replaced with the fiery hell. Hawk Moth’s creations roamed the earth and Ladybug wasn't Ladybug anymore, she was Marinette. 

Marinette couldn’t sense Tikki’s presence, but as she looked down she saw blood on her hands, blood all down her arms and pants that were torn to shreds. Marinette felt the tension start stabbing her now, everywhere. Marinette looked over her whole body to check for wounds that could’ve caused this much blood. Her wounds were all bad, horrid but closed. The blood from her wounds had healed over, leaving a scab there, but the blood on her hands and arms and legs was recent. 

“My……. Lady?” Someone from behind rasped softly, sounding like they were in pain. Marinette’s heart felt the stab of tension again, turning around felt like the slowest action she did, but seeing Chat’s almost lifeless body on the ground, holding an open wound on his stomach. She suddenly felt cold wood in her hand, looking to see a knife in her hand. 

“Chat? What happened?” Her body refused to move, or let go of the knife. 

“My Lady, I trusted you, how could you?” Chat looked at Marinette for one last time before the life drained slowly from his eyes. She heard the flutter of a small butterfly in her ear, before the soothing voice in her ear appeared. 

“Hello, Ladybug,” He said. 

  
  


Marinette sat up straight in her bed, a cold sweat covering her body. She struggled to catch her breath, breathing heavily but quietly. Adrien mumbled softly beside her, looking over his shoulder. “Mari? You ok?” He mumbled, his eyes barely open as he rubbed them. 

“Y-yeah, I just had a bad dream,”

  
  


The next morning, Marinette found no one in the cabin, only a note reading, 

‘Me and Nino went to the store just a few miles away, Adrien is out for a walk, -- love, Alya’ 

Marinette shrugged, having the wooden cabin all to her own, she placed the kettle over the portable heater. As the kettle shrieked, she held the handle carefully as she poured the steaming water into a mug and placed a tea bag in it. The water quickly changed colours from clear to orange. 

As she sipped her tea peacefully on the porch, she noticed Alya had left her phone behind, and it was now buzzing and vibrating. An Akuma alert! 

Without thinking twice, Marinette quickly set down her mug and ran to her room, transforming and grabbing the horse miraculous and using it to teleport to Paris. She watched as the giant monster wreaked havoc through the Paris streets. Chat Noir joined her a little later than usual. The monster was impossible to miss but maybe he was just further away then she was. 

“What are you thinking?” Chat asked, standing with his staff in his hand, his body in a fighting stance as he looked at the spikey monster. 

“Lead it to the woods, its spikes will be caught in the leaves and branches and it will become slower,” Ladybug jumped away, Chat following behind her quickly. Caging in the monster was easy, but using her lucky charm, a pair of craft scissors, was not. 

“See it’s bracelet? Cut it. It might be where the Akuma is,” Chat pointed to the small elastic bracelet, a stone threaded in the elastic. Ladybug followed Chat’s advice, which led to the swift recovery of the damage to Paris as she threw her lucky charm into the air, and set the white butterfly free. The two heroes separated, both needing to be somewhere quickly before their friends noticed they were even gone. 

Ladybug transported back to the roof of the cabin, still not knowing how to control the horse miraculous, was a struggle when she couldn’t get the coordinates just right. Ladybug rolled her eyes at her own misery and sneakily crept her way down the side of the log cabin and into an open window, stepping one foot, then the other onto the cold floorboards. As she turned around, her heart dropped as her last beep in her earrings fell. 

“A-Adrien, I can explain…..” Marinette couldn’t think of any excuse, but she could at least try to dig herself out of his situation. 

“Marinette, you’re…..” He paused, stepping closer for a moment. 

“Adrien you can’t tell anyone, got it?” Marinette seemed almost intimidating at that moment, but Marinette was serious about her secret getting out. Before Adrien could say anything, they heard the front door open. Marinette quickly shut the door and held her hand over Adrien’s mouth, hushing him up. 

At that moment, Marinette seemed more Ladybug than Marinette. Shutting Chat up quickly was Ladybug’s specialty, but now Marinette could do anything that Ladybug could do. 

The front door closed again and Alya’s and Nino’s voices disappeared. Marinette sighed as she lifted her hand from Adrien’s mouth. “Adrien, you can’t tell anyone, please,” Marinette pleaded with desperation. 

“I won’t, i swear,” 

“Thank you, thank you!” Marinette hugged Adrien, quickly leaving to catch up with Alya and Nino. Adrien still needed time to process what had just happened. The woman he loved was right in front of him this whole time, and he didn’t connect the dots somehow, but no one else seemed to connect them either. 

“Plagg, What am I going to do?” Adrien sat on the bed, his elbows resting on his knees as his fingers interlocked with each other. 

“About what kid?” Plagg emerged with a piece of cheese. 

“How am I going to tell Marinette that i’m Chat Noir, and I love her,”

“Well, I’m pretty sure she already knows that you love her so-” Plagg shrugged, nibbling his cheese

“Yeah but I need to tell her that I love her as both Ladybug and Marinette,” 

“Wait kid, this is the first time you’ve ever said you loved Marinette,” Plagg’s eyes widened. “I knew it was coming one time or the other but this soon?” 

“Yeah, I just kept pushing them aside for my feelings for Ladybug, but now that I know they’re the same person!” Adrien sat up, gleeful of his situation.

“But didn’t she say before that she liked another boy?” Plagg crossed his arms. He knew that Marinette liked Adrien but he wanted to make this more fun, Adrien would find out one way or another.

Adrien slumped back onto the bed behind him, flopping back onto the bed with a sigh. “You’re right, she doesn’t like Adrien or Chat Noir,” 

“Well maybe if you confess to her, she’ll feel the same way,” Plagg couldn’t leave his best friend in the dark, leaving him completely helpless would end Plagg’s entertainment. 

“Maybe, but I should talk to Alya first,” Adrien sat up in the bed, grabbing his phone from the bedside table. It had been charging via the generator through the whole Akuma fight, but he still only had a small bit of data left. “If someone knows who Marinette likes, it’s Alya,” He said as he dialed Alya’s number. 

“Hello?” Alya asked into the phone.

“Hey Alya, where are you guys?” Adrien said sheepishly into the phone. The sun was setting soon so they couldn’t be far. Even though it was setting, the sun still gave it’s temperature for another hour and a half after completely setting. 

“We’re at the beach, you coming over?” Alya asked. 

“Yeah, I’ll be over in a minute,” 

  
  
  
  
  


Adrien quickly changed and ran on his bare foot towards the beach. He saw Alya and Marinette sitting on separate beach towels, chatting as they watched Nino float on an inflatable tube in the small body of water. Adrien rolled his towel out next to Marinette’s, startling her at first but she seemed more tame than before when she would shriek and scramble her sentences around him. 

“Hey Adrien, You're not gonna get in the water?” Alya asked, flipping up her shades. 

“Alya, for the last time you don’t need those, they’re pointless now,” Marinette chuckled as she looked over at Alya. 

“No, I don’t have to ruin this  _ perfect model hair,” _ Adrien mocked a snobby voice. Alya shrugged and ran to the water. 

“Now Marinette, you have someone to keep you company,” Alya winked as she splashed into the water, tipping Nino over in the tube. 

“Adrien, about what you saw earlier, you won’t tell anyone, will you?” Marinette looked over at him, her eyes helpless and just short of desperate. 

“Of course not,” Adrien shook his head quickly, his blond locks shaking side to side. 

“Thank you, but if I find out you did, so help me god I will hunt you down and kill you,” Her voice was stern, stunning Adrien. He had never seen Marinette so intimidating. Ladybug was intimidating at times, but Marinette would never act like this. “Nah, I’m just kidding,” She chuckled. Adrien let out a soft, nervous laugh.

“Yeah…..” His voice trailed as he looked at the sand, the loose patterns running along the small part of land. “About that, can we talk when we get back to the cabin? Alone?” 

“Yeah sure,” She smiled. The smile was both the same as Marinette and as Ladybug. Genuine and honest. He didn’t know how he didn’t see it before. Pale skin, cute freckles, the way her face turned a soft pink after one of his puns, the ebony blue pigtails. Marinette always changed the topic quickly when Alya mentioned finding out Ladybug’s identity, and he was surprised no one had picked up on it yet. 

“Adrien?” She asked, looking over at him with the same pink tinged cheeks. 

“S-sorry, what?” He shook out of his daze. 

“Why are you staring at me?” She chuckled, the left corner of her mouth curling up slightly. 

“I was staring! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to!” Adrien started acting like Marinette, and now Marinette could see herself in his actions. 

“Adrien, you don’t have to act different now that you know I’m Ladybug,” Marinette shook her head in a chuckle as she looked back towards the horizon. 


	5. Fainting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After waiting for the perfect moment where they were all alone, Adrien finally confesses to Marinette....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: the characters in this story are 16-18 but in the show they are 15-16

Marinette huffed as she walked into the cabin, pushing open the screen door. Her long ponytail was drenched as she pulled it out of the elastic. The rest of her body was drenched from Adrien, Nino and Alya dragging her into the water and dunking her under into the chilling water. 

“I’m going to get dressed, and I hope the fire will be started by then,” She said as she closed the bedroom door behind her. Nino was already starting to collect from the wood pile outside to put into the fire pit, and Alya was gathering newspaper to burn.

“Stupid water, Now I’m gonna be uncomfortable for the rest of the night,” Marinette mumbled under her breath as she pulled off her bathing suit and went to grab her pajama’s only to realize, Alya hand washed a bunch of clothes this morning and they were still air-drying on the make-shift clothesline of fishing line and safety pins. “Great, now I have nothing to wear tonight,” Marinette stomped over to the closet, where a supply of towels were held. 

“Alya, can I borrow your pajamas for tonight?” Marinette asked as she stepped out of the cabin in just a towel. 

“Sorry, mine are on the clothesline,” 

“You can wear one of my t-shirts,” Adrien suggested without thinking before he spoke. Seeing Marinette in his baggy shirts would only send his face into a deeper crimson colour then if she wore her own pajamas. 

“You sure? What will you wear?” She asked. 

“I packed extra, so I have an extra set,” 

“Thanks Adrien,”

“N-no problem, there is a t-shirt and shorts in my suitcase, y-you might be cold but I’ll get a b-blanket,” He said, trying desperately to form a normal sentence, while darting his eyes anywhere but her chest area. 

Marinette slipped her small, thin body into the large, broad t-shirt that read ‘Gabriel’ on the front. “Wow, his father even makes him wear his company to bed,” Tikki commented. 

Marinette walked outside, the moon light grazing softly on the ground. She could see Adrien, once again, sitting alone on a loveseat while Alya and Nino shared a blanket across from them. Marinette sucked up her nervousness and anxiety and walked over to sit next to him. As she got closer, she saw a familiar blue scarf wrapped around his neck. Though it was summer, the nights got chilly and the slight breeze that was once refreshing in the day, was no help. 

“Nice scarf Adrien,” She smiled, gesturing to the fabric around his neck. 

“Thanks, my father gave it to me for my birthday one year,” 

“Yeah, I remember you being really excited that year,” She giggled, remembering his joy in receiving something other than a boring pen from his father. 

As they sat by the fire, Adrien fiddled with the end of the fabric. Alya told ghost stories and the rest laughed, the ones that night somehow got even more chessier every second, if it was even possible. As they finished the bag of marshmallows and let the metal rods they used cool, Marinette noticed Alya was the first to fall asleep, again. 

“I’m gonna take her inside, then I’ll be right back out,” He said, his voice just above a whisper. He carried Alya in a bridal carry and returned to the cabin. Adrien, still fiddling with the fabric, noticed that his finger ran over a threaded embroidery that he hadn’t noticed before. He looked at the placement of his finger, expecting to see the Gabriel logo embroidered on it, but instead saw Marinette’s name, stitched in cursive writing with golden threads. Marinette was resting her head on his shoulder and seemed benounced of his discovery. 

“Marinette?” Marinette perked her head up, looking into Adrien’s eyes with curiosity. 

“Yes?” She asked, cocking her head. 

“Why is your name on my scarf?” He showed the fine embroidery work to her, which seemed to alert her in some way, causing her to stumble over her words. 

“I- um, W-well I kind of made it…” She fiddled with her fingers as she shifted her body to face him. 

“Did my father pay you to make this because if he did I-” Marinette interrupted him. 

“N-no! He didn’t pay me but I made it for y-you and I don’t k-know how but someone must’ve assumed it was from your father when they gave it to you,” 

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me that you made it?” Adrien looked at Marinette, still running his hands along the stitching. 

“You seemed so happy when you thought it was from your father, so I couldn’t ruin that,” Marinette felt the butterflies in her stomach flying rapidly. Adrien didn’t know what to say. He struggled to find the words to thank her. She could’ve taken credit for it so easily, and yet she put his happiness first. 

Without thinking, Adrien swiftly placed his hand on her warm cheek and locked his lips with hers. Marinette was surprised at first, but as she clasped onto his forearm, he could feel her add a small amount of pressure to the kiss too. He stayed for a few short moments before he pulled away reluctantly, Marinette’s lips following after his. His hand still lingered on her cheek but he didn’t want to stop holding her. Marinette’s eyes sparkled as she opened them, looking into the green pools of Adrien’s eyes. 

“A-Adrien, I-” She exhaled, not knowing what to say. 

“Marinette, I love you, not just because I now know you’re Ladybug, I love you for you. I’ve known, in the back of my head, for a while but my mind didn’t acknowledge it until recently,” 

“Adrien, I made you that scarf because I like you, and I stayed silent because you were happy,” She smiled. “If you want, maybe we could try this out? Maybe just give it a shot?”

Adrien couldn’t’ve been more happy, he kissed her again and Marinette's body leaned back slightly again, smiling in between her kiss. “I'll take that as a yes,” she smiled as she pulled away, her eyes still closed. 

“Finally, you two love birds stopped dancing around each other,” Plagg announced, flying out and sitting on Adrien's shoulder. Both of their eyes darted open, looking quickly at the talking voice. 

“Plagg, what are you doing with Adrien?” Marinette knew why Plagg was with Adrien but she needed assurance. 

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m his kwami, He’s Chat Noir for gosh sake!” Plagg flew again in excitement. Marinette’s mouth was agape, pointing at Plagg then back to Adrien’s worried face. 

“I- wha- y-you’re…..” She let out before fainting into his arms. 

  
  
  


The next thing Marinette knew, she was opening her eyes to Tikki, sitting on her chest as she stared her down, Adrien sitting on the other side of the bed with his elbows bent over his knees. “Mmmmm….” she groaned, a head rush hitting her. “Adrien, what happened?”

“You fainted, the kid brought you inside, he even managed to push past Nino and Alya,” Plagg flew and sat next to Tikki. Marinette still didn’t process the knowledge of Adrien flirting with her in Akuma battles or Chat Noir lending her his umbrella. They seemed like completely different people, Ladybug was only an exaggerated version of herself. Her confidence, trustworthiness, kindness and fierceness were all inflated for the superhero persona. But she never imagined Chat Noir, the smooth, sly and flirtatious type who loved to make puns, was also Adrien Agreste, the kind, gentle, and generous who seemed intimidated by his own father. 

“Mari! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you but Plagg rarely ever listens to me and you are probably mad at me and disappointed that the one making the jokes is just me,” He said, in a long string of breath. 

“Adrien! Adrien! Calm down, you don’t need to explain yourself. I’m not mad and I’m not disappointed. I know full well of how Plagg doesn’t like to listen to instruction, owner or not,” She gave a sly glare at the kwami, who was ignoring Tikki’s scolding. 

“I know I- Wait, you’re not disappointed?” Adrien said, cocking his head like a curious dog. 

“No, I thought you would be disappointed in me but you showed me how much you loved me,” Marinette clasped her hands around Adrien’s as she sat up, looking into his eyes. 

“But you always say-”

“I know that I always say but I can’t handle it anymore, It’s stressful to keep this all to myself. I can’t even go see a therapist about it! I’m a sophomore in high school and I’m responsible for all the miraculous and their holders. I’m always responsible for saving Paris,” Marinette had to stop her sentence short, feeling the water well in her eyes. Crying would be the last thing she would do in front of Adrien. 

“You can always talk to me, and Mayor Bourgeois may provide a therapist if you request it, he is always asking for a way to pay us back,” Adrien shrugged, clasping Marinette’s hands again. Marinette sighed and looked down at her legs then back again to him. Now, Marinette was the one to instigate the kiss. She placed her hands softly under his chin, her thumbs grazing his soft skin. Adrien wrapped his arms around Marinette’s waist, pulling her closer. 

Soon, Marinette was stradling Adrien as they made out on the bed. Marinette could smell his subtle cologne and Adrien could taste the strawberry lip balm on her lips, her lips feeling smooth and gentle. 

Marinette pulled away from the kiss, but still holding onto his face as she continued to sit over him, straddling her legs on the outside of his hips. Adrien’s hands rested just above her hips and Marinette moved her hands to the back of his neck, fiddling with his hair as she stared into his eyes. Marinette opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Alya, who had surprisingly woke up again, and came into their room unannounced.

“Mari do you-” She paused, locking her eyes with Marinette’s shocked and embarrassed eyes. Alya paused, processed what was happening, then ran out, then was followed by Nino who came in a small bit later. 

“Adrien, Marinette-” He started, before stopping again. Alya couldn’t help but stifle a laugh while Nino cleared his throat nervously as his eyes darted around the room. 

“Alya, I swear this is not what it looks like,” Marinette got off Adrien with quick agility. Adrien’s heart dropped for a moment when Marinette left his embrace, but his heart spiked up again after Alya interrogated Marinette. 

“Well, It looks like you were straddling Adrien, while sharing a room and a master size bed?” Alya wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, darting her eyes from Marinette to Adrien. 

“Alya! You always have to jump to conclusions!” Marinette exclaimed, her face a crimson colour. Though Ladybug was intimidating sometimes, Marinette was cute when she was angry. She would stomp her feet in place and her hands made tiny fists as they shot towards the ground. 

“Adrien, maybe you can tell us what happened since little miss hot-head won’t,” Alya asked, Nino smiling at him in the background, as if this was the best entertainment he had ever seen. 

“Uh- Well, Me and Marinette were….” Adrien looked to Marinette for guidance, but she was too busy rubbing her temple. 

“Making out? Kissing? Frenching?” Alya asked persistently. 

“Who says ‘frenching’ anymore?” Nino added. 

“Fine. we may or may not have kissed,” He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“No way! Marinette’s had a crush on you since freshman year and she just now got the guts to ask you out!” Alya exclaimed in joy. Adrien quickly looked to Marinette who had a classic ‘tsundere’ look to her. Her arms were crossed and she looked in a different direction, her lips pursed and her face was a crimson colour still. Her body weight seemed to be leaned into one hip. 

“R-really?” Adrien’s heart skipped a beat, knowing that he was crushing on her and she was crushing on him this entire time was incredible. Sure, Marinette did say she had a crush on him, but he didn’t know she liked him for this long.

“Yeah! Remember when you gave her your umbrella on your first day? She wouldn’t stop talking about you since then,” Alya laughed, looking back at the still flustered Marinette. Before Alya could start a new sentence, Marinette turned both her and Nino around, kicking them out of the room and shutting the door behind them. 

Adrien watched as Marinette left her hand firmly on the door for a moment, her body almost pressed up against it and turned away from him. Her hand hesitated to leave, but she softly removed her hand from the door, dropping to the floor with a groan. “Adrien, I’m so sorry, Alya can be such a pain sometimes,” She buried her face in her hands. 

“No, no it’s ok. It’s actually kind of sweet to know that you didn’t just fall for my devilishly good looks,” He mocked his alter ego, Marinette chuckled in response as she lifted her head. 

“What an idiot,” She shook her head slightly in amusement and annoyance. Marinette ruffled his hair, styling it like Chat’s iconic hair do. Her hair didn’t change during her transformation, but his hair went from a proper look to a look with a sense of recklessness. “Huh, you do look very different from Chat,” She shrugged. 

“Yeah, and you look absolutely perfect, milady,” He took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on it, looking up at her. He knew it would drive her crazy. 

“Yep. Still a flirtatious dork,” She smiled, rolling her eyes as she stood up. 

“Anyways, where were we?” Marinette gave Adrien a suggestive look as she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning in for a kiss again. Before Marinette could land her lips on his, Adrien cupped her chin with his hand. 

“I was about to show you a good time,” He gave a sexy look back to Marinette, who cocked an eyebrow in confusion. Marinette tried to say something but she was swept off her feet by Adrien and into a bridal carry. Adrien placed Marinette on the bed, the springs bouncing for a moment. Marinette giggled as Adrien climbed over top of, kissing her lips then moving to her neck and shoulders. 

Marinette moaned softly as she ran her fingers through his hair. She could feel Adrien’s hot breath on her skin and it made her moan a small bit louder, hoping Alya or Nino couldn’t hear her. Adrien on the other hand, didn’t care whether or not they heard them. Adrien loved Marinette and didn’t mind showing the world that he loved her. He peeked up at her for confirmation as he kissed down her body. Marinette nodded and he continued. 


	6. Excited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette couldn't be more excited for the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: All the characters in this story are 16-18, but the characters in the show are 15-16

Adrien woke up the next morning to something warm attached to him. Marinette was sleeping in the same position she had been that one morning. Her hand was draped over his bare chest and he could feel Marinette’s smooth skin as he rubbed her back. Marinette was sitting in just a bra and underwear, from what he could tell, and remember from the night before. 

He watched for a moment, the way her face rested into a pleasant smile as she slept and the way she looked so calm. Her body moved as she breathed, the slow breaths blowing against his chest slightly. He carefully slipped from her embrace and covered her with the blanket again. 

Adrien yawned as he stretched, his abs stretching as he walked out to the porch where Alya was sipping her tea, watching him intensely. 

“Good morning Alya,” He yawned, rubbing his eye. “Do you know where-” 

“So, how was it last night,” Alya asked, raising her eyebrows for a split second. Her mug rested in her lap that was covered by a fuzzy blanket. 

“W-what?” Adrien scratched his neck, trying to avoid his blush. 

“Don’t play dumb with me Agreste. I didn’t hear anyone in the ice cooler last night, like I had any other night,” Alya narrowed her eyes. 

“I’m not going to kiss and tell,” Adrien slumped down into a chair, stubborn to not release any information. 

“C’mon Adrien, she’s my best friend,” Alya whined. 

“No, Alya. She can tell you if she wants,” 

“Good, you passed!” Alya smiled happily. 

“What? Passed what?” Adrien sat up straight again. 

“I wanted to see if you would be loyal to Marinette and kept your mouth shut or you told me everything. So, you passed,” She calmly sipped her tea again. 

  
  


“Morning,” Nino walked through the screen door. “So how was-”

“He already passed,” Alya said in a mildly annoyed but stern voice. Nino nodded and smiled at Adrien.

“Nice job, Adrien. Alya actually approves of you,” 

“Didn’t she approve of me before, since we’re friends?” Adrien asked. 

“No, no. I mean she approves of you as Marinette’s boyfriend,” Nino chuckled. Adrien hadn’t given himself the title of ‘Marinette’s boyfriend’ yet but had everyone else? He did consider Marinette his now girlfriend, whether he did it subconsciously or not. After a few minutes of talking, Nino and Adrien set to work to make pancakes, yet again, that morning for breakfast. As the two made breakfast, Alya helped to set the table and was soon helped by Marinette. Adrien walked inside holding the plate of pancakes and Nino following behind him. 

“Here you go milady’s,” He mocked his secret alter ego, winking at the bluenette with a pink face. 

“Thank you Adrien!” Alya said happily, not hesitating to dig into the food. 

Their last day on their camping trip went smoothly, spending their last time relaxing in the cabin, chatting about their plans for the future and Alya, not so subtly, interrogating the beginnings of Marinette’s and Adrien’s relationship. Nino and Alya sat in a large, cushioned chair, Alya laying against Nino’s shoulder. Adrien sat on the couch, his back against the corner as Marinette leaned against his abdomen, his arm draped over her side. 

“Alya, can you drop it?” Marinette exhaled as she rolled her eyes, knowing Alya was enjoying every little detail of her new relationship. 

“But really, how did you react, Adrien?” Alya nagged for more information. Marinette could feel the smirk laying on Adrien’s face, or at least the internal smirk he felt. 

“I was just….” He paused, “Happy,” He smiled gently, rubbing her forearm. Marinette looked up at the blonde, expecting a teasing remark. She saw the blonde looking back at her, a glean in his eye and the genuine she saw on his face the day she gave her his umbrella, and every day since. 

“Awww,” Marinette smiled before Adrien leaned in for a peck on the lips. 

“Have you told your dad yet?” Alya looked at Marinette, her eyebrows raised slightly. 

“Oh god,” Marinette let out with a chuckle. Adrien looked at Alya, then to Marinette in confusion. 

“What? What’s so funny?” Adrien asked. Marinette propped herself up more to look at Adrien. 

“Ever since you came over for the Ultimate Mecha Strike Tournament, my parents have been nagging me to invite you over for dinner, hoping I would get my first boyfriend,” She rolled her eyes in amusement of her parents nagging and begging for him to come back. Even they loved him. 

“Well, when we get back, you tell your parents that I’m free for supper tonight,” He smiled, adjusting her back against him. Marinette hummed in acknowledgment.

As the four went about their day, Marinette felt a bliss in the air when she was by Adrien, which was most of the day. They packed up the car again, Alya locking the cottage door behind them and Marinette got into the backseat of the car, Adrien getting in beside her. 

Marinette sighed in relief after the roller coaster of a vacation. Now, she was in the car, the love of her life’s head leaned on her shoulder as he slept. She couldn’t be more excited for her future with Adrien. 


End file.
